Re: the May 26 article "Teachers hit especially hard by soaring home prices here."
As usual, the Star started editorializing on page 1 this morning - most newspapers do now - by asserting that Tucson's teachers cannot afford the "soaring" local home prices.
I beg to differ. With a median home price of $207K. Tucson is cheap when compared to other large metropolitan areas such as Phoenix, not to speak of Los Angeles and San Diego.
Further, our teachers just got a raise of about 10%, and they have been promised another 10% raise in the coming two years. With an average salary in 2018 of just under $49K, teachers can qualify with most lenders for a down payment on a median home.
The article makes a good point when it suggests that teachers teach overseas. The best way to do that is to get hired by by the Department of Defense to teach military children. The pay is about 20% higher than Tucson's, and there is a housing allowance.
James Stewart
Foothills
Disclaimer: As submitted to the Arizona Daily Star.
